# UnuMondo, your stupidity amazes me **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 19, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unumondo-your-stupidity-amazes-me/156214 "2003-02-19T22:56:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unumondo-your-stupidity-amazes-me/156214/21 "2003-02-20T20:50:47Z")
The point of the book was that there were repeated denials at the time. I won’t argue that today there is much less secrecy. Anyway, intelligence flights prevent war. [CCCI is the key to preventing war between two antagonists poised for war](http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Library/9803/pak_strategic/missile_control.html). Cold War philosophy, meet Pakistan and India. Decapitation strategy, meet mutual assured destruction. The idea is to let the other nuclear power look around enough to stay calm. But not look around enough to make practice runs from their IPs in the event of a war. Confidence building measures means some degree of mutual snooping. I’m not a military expert, but legally China is welcome to fly well off the California coast in an intelligence aircraft. We’ll probably just escort it safely back out of the area. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unumondo-your-stupidity-amazes-me/156214/22 "2003-02-20T21:15:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m just guessing. I would imagine the rules of engagement would allow triple digit (in feet) distances between our planes and theirs so long as they stayed far enough out. > > Was it “Wong Wei”? He flew like a barnstormer. **flyboy88** would probably be a better one to ask. The Rules might say “Maintain adequate separation”, but who’s to say what that is? The pilot of the intercepting aircraft. I suspect that “a miss is as good as a mile”, so as long as there is no contact there’s no harm/no foul. But not being a military pilot, I don’t have an answer. ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unumondo-your-stupidity-amazes-me/156214/23 "2003-02-20T22:39:35Z")
Even I’m not sure of this, as the EP-3 has never had to any intercepting, and the subject has never come up in talking with the pointy-nose guys. My guess is that it’s up to the pilot, although this could easily be trumped for any situation by “SPINS” (special instructions). For example, say those wily Canadians start acting like they want to invade the U.S. A task force would be stood up in order to defend against a possible invasion. The task force commander would issue a SPINS message which may contain (amongst a whole slew of other stuff) what the minimum intercept distance is for our aircraft. But this is probably rare occurrence… Taking my cue from **Johnny** and Top Gun, I’ll guess that 99% of the time, it’s up to the pilots. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unumondo-your-stupidity-amazes-me/156214/24 "2003-02-21T00:38:06Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Gorgon Heap_ > \*\*Monty, that was scary. One of the things that have always annoyed me about the military is all the weird laws, rules, regs and acronyms. > > I don’t bother to remember any of it, but thankfully in my job I don’t have to. > > Still, well done there. I’d venture to say that any organization has its own “weird laws, rules, regs and acronyms” to deal with. Of course, the laws must be passed by the appropriate legislature. Thanks for the “well done.” [quote] _Originally posted by flyboy88_ **Monty** , thanks for the help. You picked apart his post better than I ever could have. No problem, flyboy. The thing is, though, that I wasn’t aware I was helping anyone. I was just taking the opportunity to address the obvious falsehoods. At any rate, you should’ve been in my office when a PO2 tried to tell a PN3 in my section that said PO2 wasn’t really obligated to do anything since his “contract was violated by the government.” I asked the PN3 to hand me the PO2’s service record and I went over the DD4 and, you guessed it, the extension agreement, page by page with the PO2. All nice and polite, of course. And yes, I was “pulling rank” since I was already a PN1 when the PO2 started mouthing that crap. I don’t care if the PO2 or UnuMondo wants to lie to themselves, but I do take exception when they decide to lie to those of us who know better. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unumondo-your-stupidity-amazes-me/156214/25 "2003-02-21T00:40:20Z")
DRAT! That post above should look like this one. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Gorgon Heap_ > **Monty** , that was scary. One of the things that have always annoyed me about the military is all the weird laws, rules, regs and acronyms. > > I don’t bother to remember any of it, but thankfully in my job I don’t have to. > > Still, well done there. I’d venture to say that any organization has its own “weird laws, rules, regs and acronyms” to deal with. Of course, the laws must be passed by the appropriate legislature. Thanks for the “well done.” > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by flyboy88_ > **Monty** , thanks for the help. You picked apart his post better than I ever could have. No problem, flyboy. The thing is, though, that I wasn’t aware I was helping anyone. I was just taking the opportunity to address the obvious falsehoods. At any rate, you should’ve been in my office when a PO2 tried to tell a PN3 in my section that said PO2 wasn’t really obligated to do anything since his “contract was violated by the government.” I asked the PN3 to hand me the PO2’s service record and I went over the DD4 and, you guessed it, the extension agreement, page by page with the PO2. All nice and polite, of course. And yes, I was “pulling rank” since I was already a PN1 when the PO2 started mouthing that crap. I don’t care if the PO2 or UnuMondo wants to lie to themselves, but I do take exception when they decide to lie to those of us who know better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unumondo-your-stupidity-amazes-me/156214.md?page=1)